Since the Longteng team scored a goal in the first half, Shanghai SIPG, which was fully attacking, still had a lot of shots at its home court.
However, from the sounds of the home fans in the above stadiums, it is not difficult to know that SIPG did not score a goal.
Zhang Sheng, who was calm and composed on the sidelines, at most paid a little attention when SIPG players took shots. At other times, he stood in front of the bench with ease.
The reason why Zhang Sheng is so calm is because he has accurately understood Villas-Boas's tactical arrangements during this period, as well as the characteristics of the SIPG players.
In the early days of the league, SIPG used the advanced European tactics brought by Villas-Boas, emphasizing high pressure, vertical compression, horizontal expansion, rapid overall movement, and active defensive counterattacks. Except for Hulk, no more players were allowed.
ball.
This set of concepts can be said to be exactly the same as the tactics Zhang Sheng created for the Longteng team in the previous two seasons, and even handled the details better than Zhang Sheng.
However, Zhang Sheng also knows that the upper limit of Villas-Boas's transformation of SIPG is this, because his players limit his ability to perform more.
For example, in the midfield, Oscar is the only player who can effectively organize attacks. He cannot have the ability to organize passes like those players in the five major European leagues.
For example, defensive midfielder Rina Huikang has no role other than defense. In recent years, due to injuries and age, he has even struggled to defend. Akhmedov sometimes has to fill in for Rina Huikang.
For example, Villas-Boas emphasizes the concept of the full-backs pressing forward heavily and the whole game participating in the offense and defense. Because the two full-backs are not capable enough, they often focus on one and miss the other.
Finally, Villas-Boas hoped that the two central defenders could press out of the penalty area and be responsible for passing the ball well, but he left it alone because the footwork of the central defenders in the team was simply not up to standard.
Zhang Sheng is well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of Villas-Boas's package, which is why he dared to sell the highly praised star of hope Yan Xiaoyu to SIPG.
At the beginning of the season, Shanghai SIPG prepared to make a big move. They hired Yan Xiaoyu, known as "Little Kongka" from the Longteng team, and prepared to recreate Kongka's original glory at SIPG.
But this transfer was confirmed before Villas-Boas came to the team. Subconsciously, he was not very optimistic about Yan Xiaoyu and even resisted it.
After all, Yan Xiaoyu's physical confrontation ability is too weak. Although his foot skills are top-notch in the Chinese Super League and his passing ability is also outstanding among domestic players, Villas-Boas, who is used to selecting players in modern European football, is very dissatisfied with such a player whose weaknesses are too obvious.
cold.
When there was a shortage of personnel in the middle of the league, Yan Xiaoyu was forced to go into battle. He had a certain performance against the Australian team in the AFC Champions League, but when Oscar came back, Yan Xiaoyu, who had no defensive ability at all, was defeated. After all, 4
-In the midfielders of 2-3-1, Wu Lei has average defensive ability, Oscar is responsible for organization, Hulk is fully involved in the offense, and the remaining two midfielders must pay attention to defense.
In the game against the Longteng team, Yan Xiaoyu really needs to play. Facing the strong offensive and confrontational ability of the Longteng team's midfield, SIPG will definitely not be able to hold on.
In this case, at the end of the season, the team's physical fitness has been exhausted and SIPG has to rely more on two foreign players. It is very easy for the Longteng team to deal with it.
Keep an eye on Oscar, with many people surrounding him, preventing him from advancing or passing the ball; fighting Hulk more often, allowing him to shoot from a farther place. A set of highly targeted operations basically eliminated SIPG's
attack.
As for Wu Lei, his shooting threat is basically in the penalty area, and his shooting level under interference is not enough. No matter how wide his running range and flexible movement are, and if he does a good job of zone defense to prevent him from entering the penalty area, once he enters the penalty area, he will
Quickly getting close to him, his threat was immediately reduced by half.
Poor confrontation, poor dribbling, and lack of passing ability are Wu Lei's biggest weaknesses!
As for Elkeson, who suffered from minor injuries and was overdrafted by Evergrande for several years. He was also disliked by Villas-Boas and had been unable to play for a long time. Zhang Sheng's request was very simple, let Liming play more in the penalty area.
Just confront him. There is really no tacit understanding between him and other SIPG players.
Therefore, after Zhang Sheng's combination of punches, SIPG's players pressed hard and attacked fiercely, but it was difficult to easily enter the top of the arc in front of the Longteng team's penalty area.
This leads to the fact that most of the shots taken by Hulk, Oscar, or Wu Lei are long-range shots. Moreover, the sluggish Elkson, as a center forward, has very poor shooting aim in the penalty area.
The only thing that was a bit threatening was Hulk's incredible strength. Despite De Paul's interference, he slid a long shot from 30 meters away.
The commendable offense had no real results, and the always unstable defense did not perform miracles.
Before the game, Shanghai SIPG suffered from extensive injuries and suspensions at the left back position. Villas-Boas, who was short of manpower, asked the central defender he had high hopes for, 20-year-old Wei Zhen, to come to the emergency room.
His performance on the court was that he was overwhelmed by the sharp attacks of Fernando and Huang He.
At the end of the first half, even though Cai Huikang had already received a yellow card to fill his position, he had to foul Huang He again due to his declining physical fitness and received a yellow card.
"Although Wei Zhen has a very positive attitude, the position of left back is really difficult for him." Hong Gang directly criticized the young player, "Huang He and Fernando on the right wing of the Longteng team are both extremely fast and experienced.
Player. Now that he has a yellow card, it will be even harder to play in the second half."
Xu Yang also said worriedly: "The Longteng team has a killer move. They are particularly good at exploiting the opponent's weaknesses on the field to make a big fuss, and then relying on the advantage gained at one point, they quickly expand this advantage to the point where the opponent is unable to parry.
.In the first round of the last round of the AFC Champions League, the Longteng team also caught Kawasaki Frontale's left side and attacked hard, and in one game, the opponent's left back was wiped out."
Adhering to a neutral attitude as a commentator, Hong Gang was also worried about SIPG: "Yes, if SIPG does not solve the problem of full-backs and use the wing to help the team's offense, it will also
It will bring down the whole team's defense."
"Fortunately, the first half of the game is about to end. Let's see how coach Villas-Boas adjusts during the halftime break."
"Well, the referee blew the half-time whistle, and SIPG has a precious chance to breathe. Let us look forward to a more exciting game in the second half."
Compared to the tranquility of the Dragons in the simple visiting team's lounge during halftime, in the luxurious home team's locker room, Villas-Boas was breathing fragrance.
All SIPG players, including captain Cai Huikang, remained silent, and the club's translator could only translate part of it in an awkward and selective manner. After all, it was difficult to hear the words.
After venting his emotions, Boas had to face reality.
"In the second half, our left guard, Wei, you have a yellow card, you must be careful."
Wei Zhen nodded quickly after hearing this.
Next, Villas-Boas encouraged Oscar to play more creatively and not to force passes to Hulk when he was being stared at. He said that Wu Lei is also the best in China.
The forward can send more passes to Wu Lei.
While mentioning Oscar, I also praised Wu Lei, hoping that the latter would have more fighting spirit.
His focus still came to Hulk: "Hulk (Hulk), I know your abilities. You can definitely perform better. This game is our most important game so far this season.
We should have the confidence to win the game."
Hulk nodded heavily.
Hulk has three relationships with Boas: Porto, Zenit, and Shanghai SIPG. Hulk is absolutely loyal to Boas. Now that Boas has made a request to him, he must give 100% of his own strength.
Two hundred efforts came out.
Finally, Villas-Boas encouraged the whole team: "Everyone! This is our home court, and we cannot let down the people who support us, no matter what the opponent is."
As the referee blew the whistle at the start of the second half, Shanghai SIPG, which had gotten a chance to rest, showed an indomitable momentum. Not only did Oscar continuously send good passes to Wu Lei and Elkeson, but even Ahmed
Dov also made two long-range shots from the outside.
As for Hulk, he ran all over the court. Not only did he repeatedly return to the midfield to catch the ball, but once the Dragons counterattacked, he desperately returned to defend in front of his own penalty area, ultimately destroying De Paul's pass.
A raid.
"SIPG's momentum has increased." Xu Yang also liked to see more evenly matched games and gave SIPG a thumbs up.
Hong Gang praised Villas-Boas: "Coach Villas-Boas's midfield arrangements have improved. Oscar no longer only contacts Hulk, Wu Lei has also come to life. Aiha's long-range shot is obviously also on the ball.
We haven't seen anything like this at halftime. Now in terms of shooting, the two sides are already tied at 8-8."
Of course, Zhang Sheng could clearly see what the two commentators could see.
From his observation, SIPG did play better than in the second half of the first half, but it was still not good enough.
Wei Zhen should have obviously been warned by Villas-Boas. For more than 20 minutes in the second half, he has not taken a step beyond half-time. Oscar played smarter, Hulk worked harder, and even the opponent's defensive midfielder
Two feet came too.
However, SIPG still has not solved the fundamental problem, which is to break into the Longteng team's penalty area.
Elkeson, the center of the arrow, is obviously not online, and his fierce impact in the past has not been shown at all. His ability to pick up the ball with his back has been completely restricted by Li Ming. The difference in ability between the two sides is nearly 20 points, and there is no difference between them.
Cash it out in the game.
After 30 minutes of the second half, the physical upper limit cannot be compensated by mental strength - the physical fitness of SIPG players has reached the limit - they can't run anymore.
In the 33rd minute of the second half, Wu Lei received a pass from Oscar and used all his strength to accelerate and break through Huang He. He passed the ball into the penalty area. Hulk also responded and settled in the penalty area. Faced with such a good opportunity,
Elkerson and Hulk actually went to grab this point at the same time, and they collided in the air.
Both players were muscular, as if a high-speed Boeing 747 had crashed into an Airbus A380.
Seeing the "collision" between his players in the penalty area, Villas-Boas on the sidelines couldn't help but hold his forehead in embarrassment. This mistake was too low-level.
The helpless and angry expressions of the SIPG fans in the stands were all captured by the broadcast cameras, and correspondingly, they were teased by the smiling visiting team fans.
Fortunately, the players of the Longteng team respected the ethics of the game. Huang Dawei, who had already received the ball, did not immediately launch a quick counterattack by throwing the ball with his hand. Instead, he kicked the ball out of the sideline to check on Hulk and Eiji who were unable to get up in the penalty area.
Erkeson.
It can be seen that after the two players who did not take any psychological precautions collided with each other, they obviously did not have time to take protective actions when they landed.
When Hulk landed, he staggered, lost his footing, and even stepped on Elkerson, causing him to fall on top of him.
Considering Hulk's weight, one can imagine the power of this foot wearing nail shoes.
The team doctor rushed in.
Villas-Boas, who had completely lost trust in Elkeson, couldn't bear it. He quickly took this opportunity to replace the former and sent in substitute striker Luo Ba.
Elkeson, who knew that he was in a bad state, did not make any struggle and silently walked off the field with the SIPG team doctor who was called in by the referee.
"Alas, Ai Shen's state is really hard to describe." Hong Gang couldn't help but sigh when he saw the iconic figure who had dominated the Chinese Super League and AFC Champions League in the past in such a state of decline.
Xu Yang shook his head: "In the two years since he moved to SIPG, Elkeson's status has been ups and downs, and this season he has had fewer opportunities to play. A player who doesn't have a smile on his face in a game and who walks heavily cannot have the same performance.
Good performance.”
"He needs more time to adjust." Hong Gang nodded.
Villas-Boas' substitution did not have a very good effect. The physical bottleneck made SIPG's offense completely misfired, and even the defense failed.
Wei Zhen, who had been attacked for most of the game, made another mistake and allowed Fernando to break into the penalty area. The redundant action on his inexperienced hand had serious consequences - Fernando fell directly into the penalty area, and the pulling foul from behind was so obvious.
The referee did not hesitate and awarded a penalty kick directly.
To make matters worse, the referee also showed Wei Zhen a yellow card. The latter turned two yellow cards into one red and was ejected.
When Fernando scored the penalty kick he created, Xu Yang also lost confidence in SIPG: "This game is difficult for SIPG."
Falling behind 0:2, Villas-Boas chose to be conservative. He replaced Wu Lei with Yu Hai, who had average performance throughout the game.
The opponent gave up, allowing Zhang Sheng to relax completely. Tian Qijie replaced Huang He, and then Zeng Fusheng and Qu Wenming came on consecutively, replacing Tao Wentao and Nie Jiang. The next forward added a midfielder, and the formation
It also changed back to a more reliable 4-2-3-1.
In the end, in this crucial away game in the AFC Champions League semi-finals, the Dragons used their more balanced overall strength to easily defeat Shanghai SIPG and defeated their opponents 2:0, gaining the upper hand.
After the game, the SIPG players left the field sadly. Obviously, they also knew that the next second round of the away game would be extremely difficult.
